


Same Old Brand New You

by Mirrored_Illusions



Series: 2017 August Fic-A-Day [4]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Gilmore Girls, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: 2017 August Fic-A-Day, Angst, Community: twistedshorts, Gen, Multiple Crossovers, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-30
Packaged: 2018-12-11 15:36:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11717331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mirrored_Illusions/pseuds/Mirrored_Illusions
Summary: Rory survived the apocalypse with her sister, but then her car gets stuck in the mud and she gets surrounded by walkers.





	1. First Meetings

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: Property of Joss and whoever owns TWD & GG.
> 
> Written for the 2017 August Fic-A-Day, Day 5.

It had been three months, one week, and four days since Lorelai 'Rory' Leigh Gilmore had become an orphan and the official? guardian of her younger half-sister, Georgia 'Gigi' Hayden. Could she be an orphan when she was 28 years old? Gigi was definitely an orphan, maybe. She didn't know where Sherry was or if she was alive, but it didn't really matter. She'd been in and out of Gigi's life when it had suited her, so Lorelai had been more of a mother than Sherry ever had. After all, Gigi spent vacations with Lorelai, Lorelai looked after her when Christopher was out of town, and generally called her at random times just to ramble on about something or other. And of course to check up on her former step-daughters well-being. It had been sweet, really. After all, she had no obligations to the little girl, but Rory supposed her mother had only seen her (ex-boy)friend's motherless child and thought of Rory and what it had been like for her own daughter to grow up with a mostly absent father.  
  
Rory had had a good childhood; her mother loved her and always made sure she felt loved and had everything she needed, even if it wasn't the best quality. Christopher had loved her, too, but he nearly always prioritized something else over her. She'd had grandparents who also loved her but showed it in a very different way. When Christopher had shown up with a two-year-old Gigi they had tried to give the little girl something similar to what they had, but now everyone was gone except for Rory and Gigi. No mother, no father, no grandparents, and she was far away from the eccentric people of Stars Hollow who were probably gone as well. Rory shook her head, stop that! Those thoughts are getting you nowhere fast!  
  
When the infection first broke out she'd been visiting her father and sister in Atlantia, Georgia. She'd been freelancing as a journalist for a few years at that point and didn't really need to be anywhere specific so she'd traveled a lot. It had given her a good chance to get first-hand accounts of many events she wouldn't have gotten if she'd been living somewhere permanently. Early on she had been covering the initial outbreaks; she'd written several articles about how the dead seemed to suddenly get back up again and try to take a bite out of whoever happened to be closest to them. She'd even included several of her own photographs, taken with her smartphone, with the articles. She'd done a lot of research trying to find something, anything, that would help, but in the end, the only thing that had been helpful were the survival guides she had printed out as a joke for her father. They had quickly become her lifeline as the world around her descended into chaos. Without them, they would probably have starved to death in the beginning, or at the very least they would've gotten bitten.  
  
Now they were in her Jeep outside Atlanta, at the edge of a forest, and her car was stuck in the mud. It didn't matter what she tried, it wouldn't budge. The next thing she heard was a thunk! on the passenger door window, quickly followed by a cut-off scream from Gigi. They had soon learned that screaming was bad around the walking dead, as were movement - especially abrupt ones. When she turned she saw a walker right outside the window and behind that one was a herd slowly encircling the car. Rory doubled her effort to get the car loose, but it didn't help at all. As a last effort she turned off the engine; hopefully, it would make them lose interest when there was no sound or movement. She thought quickly, they needed something to cover the windows so they couldn't be seen. Scratch that, they just needed to hide.  
  
"Gigi, climb into the back and hide under a blanket on the floor. And for God's sake, don't move when you've settled. Okay?" Rory's voice was soft and commanding. The nine-nearly-ten-year-old girl climbed carefully in between the seats and over to the backseat before grabbing one of the blankets they used when they had to sleep in the car. Using few and cautious movements to accomplish the task the girl was soon semi-comfortably hidden out of sight.  
  
"I love you, Rory. Don't become one of them."  
  
"I love you, too. We've survived this once before, we'll survive it again." Rory's voice was still soft, but the commanding tone was gone. Instead, she tried to sound both comforting and encouraging. They really had been in a similar situation a month prior, but back then it had only been four walkers and they had moved on within half an hour. This time she had counted fourteen but probably missed a few as she curled down into the small space underneath the steering wheel and beside the driver's seat she had previously occupied.  
  
The windows were all closed but she could still hear the groans and the corpses trying to hit or move the car. A few even tried the door handles, but in a case of paranoia after the first attack, Gigi had insisted that they lock the doors even when they were driving. That came in really useful right at that moment, even if she had only humored her sister earlier. Anything to make Gigi feel a little safer in the new world.  
  
&&&  
  
( _Further into the forest shortly before Rory's car first get stuck._ )  
  
"Nice crossbow."  
  
The man holding the aforementioned weapon simply stared at the two women in front of him. It was the blonde one who had spoken, but he was more weary of the brunette standing slightly behind her and to the blonde's left side. The leather outfit she wore made her look like she belonged somewhere in between his old neighborhood and the more x-rated club scene, only with more visible weapons. The blonde one only had a couple of knives and some sort of fancy ax strapped on her back, in addition to the gun in a holster at her hip and the crossbow she was aiming straight at him.  
  
"What are you doing here? Do you have a group?" He didn't feel like being polite, that was more Rick's thing than his. Besides, he needed answers. Needed to make sure the group was safe. Two women traveling alone was unlikely this far into the apocalypse, so there had to be someone else nearby.  
  
"Easy tiger, we don't bite." The brunette gave him a smirk and a casual once-over. "We're just passing through your... 'hood. No need to get trigger happy."  
  
"Yes, just passing through looking for something edible." The blonde wrinkled her nose cutely. "I'm Buffy, and that's Faith." The blonde, *Buffy*, pointed helpfully to the dominatrix beside her when she introduced the brunette. Both of them also dodged the group question. Which meant they either had someone they wanted to protect or they were alone.  
  
"Daryl. The fuck kind of name is *Buffy*?"  
  
"The kind of name my parents gave me, so no more comments on it." Okay, blondie was clearly in charge. The world had ended and she could be anyone she wanted to be and she chose to keep using that name? Women were weird.  
  
"How many walkers have you killed?" Buffy blinked in slight surprise, while Faith laughed and replied.  
  
"As many as possible. Most of the ones we've come across. Didn't really count 'em. We were busy making sure they stopped walking." She turned towards her friend, "Estimate, B?"  
  
Blondie shrugged her thin shoulders, "Somewhere between 300 and 500 each? Atlanta is swamped with the things." Daryl just stared for a couple of moments before he blurted out a denial.  
  
"No fucking way. There's no fucking way scrawny little twigs like you two could kill that many by yourselves." He was getting angry; he hated to be lied to, especially by people he had just met.  
  
Faith just laughed again and Buffy gave him an amused smile that was disconcerting in its casualty. Her whole attitude said she was used to being underestimated.  
  
"Believe it, Scruffy. We know how to fight and kill. And the walkers ain't that difficult to kill unless they crowd ya. Make sure they don't get personal and you're good."  
  
Daryl opened his mouth to reply when both of the women suddenly tensed and turned towards the right, clearing hearing something he didn't. They exchanged a silent look before Buffy switched the crossbow for the ax she had on her back. Faith instinctively checked the handle on the sword she had sheathed across her back and then they were off running.  
  
Before he had a chance to really understand what was going on they were so far away he could only see their backs. He cursed and began running after them. What the hell was wrong with them?  
  
By the time he caught up to them they were busy chopping the heads off of a group of walkers surrounding a car. Huh.  
  
"The fuck?" He was cursing more than usual, but these women were going off script and he didn't like not being in control or at least he wanted to know what was going on.  
  
"We're killing more walkers and saving the damsel in distress." Faith gave another smirk and then added, "Add 17 more walkers to the estimate."  
  
"Great. Fantastic. You're Supergirl times two." They'd moved impossibly fast both when they ran towards the walkers and while they were fighting, and now that he was forced to reconsider their earlier interaction they had both moved with a predatory grace even before that. Daryl's head began to consider the ramifications of having these two women as part of the group. There were both pros and cons; they were clearly experienced fighters, much stronger and faster than their fragile appearance suggested, and could be major assets to the group. On the other hand, they could be the entire group's death if they just wanted their supplies. If they could kill 17 walkers within a few minutes they could probably do the same thing to a group of living humans.  
  
While he was contemplating adding more people to the group, Buffy had gotten the attention of the woman inside the car and was helping her out. Faith opened the back door and a little girl around nine or ten came out looking weary and skeptical of the new arrivals.  
  
&&&  
  
( _Rory's POV._ )  
  
"Everyone, this is Rory and her sister Gigi. Rory and Gigi this is Faith and Daryl. And I'm Buffy."  
  
After the introduction, Rory saw both Buffy, Faith, and Daryl give both her and Gigi a thorough once-over to check for wounds and other injuries. Or at least, that's what she assumed they were doing. The two women had done the same thing to themselves and then each other after the last walker had lost half of its head.  
  
"Thanks for the help. My car got stuck in the mud and I couldn't get it loose and then the walkers turned up and surrounded us, and -." Why was she rambling like she was back in high school? She was more articulate than this.  
  
"Whoa, easy on the babble-fest. We get it, kid. You're safe now, at least until you come across the next herd."  
  
"Faith!"  
  
Kid? This Faith couldn't be more than a couple of years older than her. Rory resisted the urge to cross her arms under her chest, it wouldn't help her situation at all. Something about these people made her feel both protected and threatened, which made no sense at all.  
  
Then the man, Daryl?, decided to enter the conversation, "How many walkers have you killed? Do you have a group?"  
  
Rory heard Faith give an unladylike snort, but both of the women remained silent otherwise.  
  
"Uh... 20-30? We usually hide when they come, or we try to run or drive away." She blinked back the sting in her eyes, she wouldn't cry in front of these people. "We don't have a group anymore." She inhaled and exhaled slowly a couple of times to regain control before she added, "The walkers got them."  
  
Her three rescuers nodded in acceptance of that, before Buffy replied, "You can join us. Daryl has another group we haven't met, but they're probably not far from here."  
  
The man in question gave the blonde a sharp look at that but refrained from commenting. Mostly because Faith began talking before he got that far.  
  
"Yeah, you can join us. It'll mean our little group consists of all of four people. We lost the others to some idiots and a herd of walkers."  
  
"You can all follow me to my group, we have a camp about an hour from here on foot."  
  
The next ten minutes were spent going over details; first how to get Rory's car loose from the mud, then how to get to Buffy's car some forty minutes in the opposite direction from Daryl's camp. It ended with Faith pushing her car out of the muddy trap, then everyone piled into the car to drive to get the other car.  
  
It took a while but they were finally on their way to what Daryl called the Quarry Camp. Once they'd reached Buffy's car she and Faith had switched cars, and then made Daryl get into the backseat to give them directions. Rory followed in her own car with Gigi.


	2. A Step in the Right Direction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone needs to learn how to fight, but there are always those who disagree.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Property of Joss and whoever owns TWD & GG.
> 
> Written for the 2017 August Fic-A-Day, Day 13.

The day after the four of them followed Daryl back to the Quarry camp, four of the men of the group decided to return to Atlanta as apparently, they'd been stupid enough to leave one of their own behind, handcuffed to a pipe on a department store roof. The ones going back into the city were Rick, who had been saved by Glenn and several others the day before last; Glenn himself; a man who called himself T-Dog; and Daryl, their resident hunter. By the anger the latter displayed, and the general conversation, it quickly became obvious that the man left behind was Daryl's older brother.  
  
Buffy and Faith had held a nonverbal conversation using their eyes only before Faith produced a coin and said, "Heads." Buffy had simply nodded her consent and the dark-haired Slayer flipped the coin. Catching it and slapping it down on the back of her left hand she showed it to her fellow Slayer. The side view of a man's face was clearly visible.  
  
"Have fun in Atlanta and make sure you and everyone get back in one piece." Buffy wasn't happy, but one of them had to stay behind and protect the group. They'd failed with the small group they had been a part of before, mainly thanks to a group of men who were trying to capture all of the women for their own twisted desires. There were too many non-fighters in their new group, too many who seemed to think they were safe living in *tents*, which meant they had been really lucky and no herd had come across their camp so far, but it was only a matter of time.  
  
That mentality had to go; *everyone* needed to learn how to fight, how to kill the walkers and living humans who wanted to harm them. They needed to learn how to hunt and prepare their catch, something the two Slayers needed to learn as well, and everyone needed to learn at least basic first aid. She sighed quietly so no one heard her, this would probably make her really unpopular with nearly everyone. At least Faith was on her side this time, and she'd help out. In the years since Sunnydale, the two of them had regularly spent time together, trying to balance each other out, and heal the fractured attempt at a friendship they'd had since their first meeting.  
  
It had been slow going at first, there was a lot of bad history between them, but they'd persevered, and eventually, they'd formed a strong friendship. Not everyone had been happy about the turn of events, they'd seen it as Faith attempting to corrupt the Golden Slayer. In reality, she'd helped Buffy become more comfortable with her inner killer and had shown her how regularly blowing off steam was good for her, which in turn had made her a better Slayer. For Faith, it had meant a stabilizing influence, someone who was willing to defend her, fight for her and, more importantly, fight beside her. Together they were unstoppable and perfectly in sync. Which was a major reason why they were still alive while most of the other Scoobies and various other people they had worked with were now among the dead or the undead.  
  
Giles, Willow, Xander, Kennedy, and eight of the other Sunnydale Slayers had been killed within the first month of the global outbreak, either by walkers or by scared or angry survivors. In the case of Giles and Xander, it had actually been the military, much to the others aggravation. The rest had followed in the next month. Thankfully none of them had kept any of their abilities after death, even if they were reanimated. By the time they reached Atlanta Buffy and Faith had been the only ones left, except for the small group of survivors they'd picked up along the way. As she thought about it, there was a chance Oz was still alive since he had been in Tibet at the monastery when the outbreak began. It was far enough away from most of the population that he was most likely still alive.  
  
Dawn had been returned to her natural form of the Key two years prior after she'd started to get sick and no one was able to cure her. No magic and no doctors or medicine could do anything to alleviate her pain. In the end, it had been Dawn herself who had found an old and risky ritual which would shed her human skin and return her to her natural state. It had originally been crafted as a means to cure people who had been cursed permanently into an animal form. In between Dawn, Willow, and a few witches from a nearby coven they'd managed re-work the ritual and then perform it.  
  
For a few moments after the ritual had been completed they'd been able to see a bright, green, swirly shimmer before it had disappeared leaving nothing of Dawn Summers behind. In remembrance of her only sister, Buffy and the Scoobies had spent the rest of the night partying, as per Dawn's last request. The grieving part of the process had followed, but they had all consoled themselves with the knowledge that Dawn was still out there, somewhere, even if she wasn't human anymore.  
  
In the weeks following her sister's transformation, Buffy had noticed an increased knowledge in languages, demonic lore, and other subjects she knew Dawn had been proficient in. She'd also gotten knowledge of her friends and family she hadn't known before. After some time she'd come to the conclusion that since Dawn had been made out of her so Buffy would protect her, now everything that had once been Dawn had been returned to Buffy. Buffy herself already knew a lot more about those topics than she was willing to tell anyone, but the extra intelligence was both a painful reminder that her sister was gone and a good way to honor her memory.  
  
&&&&&  
  
As Buffy watched the van drive away she turned to Rory, who was standing beside her watching everything warily while still keeping half an eye on her sister, who was in the process of getting to know the other children in the camp.  
  
"Has anyone taught you and Gigi how to fight?"  
  
Rory blinked at her, a little startled. "Not really. My old group just made sure everyone knew to destroy the brain, and that everyone had either a gun or a knife or a baseball bat. Or some other weapon." A few moments later, after she had checked her sister was still in the same place, she added, "They just told Gigi to hide, or to get up high if she couldn't find a hiding place."  
  
A worried frown marred the young woman's face, "Gigi doesn't have to learn how to fight, does she?" Her face told Buffy she already knew the answer to the question, but Buffy decided to reply regardless.  
  
"Yes, Rory. Everyone needs to learn how to defend themselves, even the children." She gave Rory a sad smile. "You know how children are; they run off and get lost sometimes. Or they're at the wrong place at the wrong time. The walkers can be anywhere, hiding in the least likely places, and when Gigi or any of the other children suddenly run into them they need to be able to kill them, or at the very least disable them, because there isn't always an escape route. And there isn't always an adult around to save them from the bad things."  
  
Buffy drew a breath before she continued, "Right now we're vulnerable. The camp is in the woods, most people are staying in tents on the ground, and there are hardly any defenses. No, the boxes on strings don't count." She saw Rory's face scrunch up in confusion at the last part, apparently, she hadn't seen those yet.  
  
"She doesn't have to learn it today, but soon. I intend to begin teaching everyone self-defense today, and when Faith gets back she'll help out. Once everyone has gotten the basics we'll move on to weapons. Blades, guns, baseball bats, and then weapons of opportunity. The more everyone learns the better chance they have of survival."  
  
They talked for a little while longer and Rory promised to attend if she could get someone to watch her sister. Buffy left her and went around the camp to see who would be willing to learn how to fight properly. By the time she had talked to everyone she'd gotten six positive replies, including Rory's. Two highly derisive and insulting replies, and a number of polite but negative responses. She kept her promise to Rory and didn't ask the children or their parents for permission to teach the young ones. A little show and tell would be needed in order to prove herself first.  
  
In the end, the people who had chosen to attend were Rory Gilmore, Dale Horvath, Miranda Morales, Jacqui, and the Harrison sisters. It didn't escape her notice that Dale was the only man who had agreed to participate. No matter; Buffy knew she looked young and harmless to most people, it had been an excellent disguise/ruse before when she was out patrolling, but once they saw her fight they usually changed their mind. It was a pity that Lori and Carol chose to not join them, but it was their choice. At least it was Lori's choice. Buffy was pretty certain after only one look at Carol's husband when they had arrived the evening before that he would not have allowed his wife, or daughter, to learn any kind of fighting.  
  
Buffy then spent the next couple of hours teaching her little class how to stand properly to keep their balance while utilizing their entire body, how to block and when, and where to hit to make the most impact. She'd skipped several steps, but who knew when they would need it. There would hopefully be time to fill in the missing lessons at a later point.  
  
While the Slayer was busy teaching the women and Dale how to defend themselves, Ed Peletier was standing off to the side jeering and insulting them. Well, he was mostly insulting Buffy for supposedly wasting everyone's time for no reason, but the class got their share. Buffy simply stayed calm and told her little class to do the same, after all, he wanted a rise out of them, and the best way to deal with that kind of behavior was to ignore it as much as possible. It was also good practice on how to ignore the walkers and other distractions when they had to fight for real.  
  
It lasted until Shane and Morales came back from wherever they'd gone and chased him off. He then went over to Carol and Lori who were washing clothes in the lake while looking after Carl, Sophia, Eliza, Louis, and Gigi. Buffy listened with half an ear to what they were saying but mostly ignored the useless idiot.  
  
Later that evening they had a fry-up of fish caught by Andrea and Amy, much to Buffy's surprise. She hadn't thought either of the two women had any practical talents, but then again, what did she really know about them? Pretty much nothing that was what, and she'd fallen into the trap of judging them. Other than Buffy's little silent faux-pas they had a good time eating dinner and talking around a campfire.  
  
At least until Buffy got a really bad feeling that something terrible was about to happen.


	3. The Herd

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The walker herd attacks the Quarry Camp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The Buffyverse belongs to Joss Whedon. TWD & GG belong to someone who isn't me.  
> Written for the August FaD, Day 26.

Later, Buffy would wonder if her sudden feeling that something bad was about to happen, had anything to do with Jim, one of the camp's survivors, spending the day digging holes which looked suspiciously like open graves. Unfortunately, she'd decided not to ask him about it, and instead, she'd tried to get to know more of the survivors. Knowing the people she was now protecting would be helpful in the future as it gave her a starting point for how they would react to different situations, including if, or rather *when*, they were attacked. And sooner or later they would be; either by the living or by the dead. There was also the chance of animal attacks at some point.

Her questions, other than the obvious one to ask for their full name, or in a few cases repeat their name, was to ask what they'd done pre-apocalypse. What were their hobbies; did they have any particular skills? She'd also asked them how many had family within the camp; how many of the undead had they killed; how much did they know about fighting and how to kill? Did they know first aid or something more advanced? Did they know what to do with water they intended to drink or use in food if it didn't come from a sealed bottle? As people answered her questions she wrote them down in a notebook, making plenty of space so she could add information later.

When they had the time she and Faith would go through everything and try to work out a schedule so everyone could learn at the very least the basics of what they needed to know in order to survive in the new world. There would be complaints and refusals, so before they began they needed to get Rick on board since he seemed to be a natural choice as the new leader unless Buffy decided to take the position. Or perhaps they could share, it would certainly make it easier for both of them. More likely than not they would also need to convince Lori of the necessity to learn these things since she appeared to be the one most likely to object, loudly, and many of the others would follow her lead and see it as a good reason to refuse.

Too many people expected others to do the dirty work for them. They expected other people to hunt, to cook the food, and to gather water. They expected someone else to do the laundry and get them new clothes, and they expected others to fight both the living and the undead for them. Few people expected all of it, but too many didn't get that the world had ended and they needed to be useful to the group and not simply assume they'd get whatever they needed without doing their share.

The two Slayers would evaluate the members of the group, find out who had which skill set and then get them to teach everyone else. The two women would openly admit there were some things on that list they were bad or even terrible at, cooking came to mind, but most of it could be taught. This group also needed to learn that laundry wasn't exclusively the women's job, neither was cooking. Hunting could also be done by both genders. And no one should go anywhere alone, there was too big a risk that they'd run into a corpse or twenty. In other words, Daryl would no longer be hunting by himself.

Buffy had done the same thing with their previous group to ensure she knew what to teach them, which jobs they should do, and which jobs they shouldn't. All in all, it had come in handy, at least until they'd lost the group to human stupidity and the base urges of the walking dead. This time they needed to do better, they needed to make sure that this time they wouldn't lose everyone. Especially since there were children in this camp, unlike their last group. It gave her a different reason to do better this time.

&&&

In the distance, Buffy heard twigs break and the voice of Ed Peletier complain at someone he clearly thought was his wife. A quick look around the campfire confirmed that Carol and her daughter were still sitting on the other side of the fire eating their portion of the fish. The same survey also confirmed that the only ones not attending the dinner were Ed and Amy Harrison who had gone to the bathroom a few minutes earlier after much laughter when her sister had asked where she was going.

That meant there were either other humans at the camp, wild animals looking for food, or there was at least one walker outside the Peletier family's tent. Buffy quickly got up. "Everyone get a weapon, we have company and I don't think it's friendly."

In the direction of the tent, she heard a short 'oh' in shock, followed by the tell-tale groan of a walker and then the unmistakable sound of teeth biting into flesh. Over by the RV, the door opened and before Amy could say whatever she intended to say, Buffy quickly declared, "Get back inside, we're surrounded by walkers!"

Amy stared at her for a few seconds before a walker rounded the vehicle and she quickly retreated inside and locked the door behind her. Outside chaos broke out as the undead poured into the camp from nearly all around them, shambling towards the living looking for another meal. The three mothers in the camp grabbed their children in panic but none of them seemed to know what to do after that, and reflexively Buffy shooed them in the direction of the nearby cars and told them to get inside and lock the doors and get down low so the dead wouldn't focus on them. The same order was given to Rory and her little sister, and they quickly got into Rory's car along with Miranda Morales and her two children while Buffy covered them.

Behind her, Shane and Dale were shooting at the corpses with a rifle; Morales and Jim were using baseball bats to hit them in the head, and the rest were either screaming or hiding behind the men with the weapons. Didn't anyone pay attention to her earlier?

"Ladies! Get your knives or bats and aim for their head! You need to be proactive and stop depending on someone else to save you!" While she'd been talking she'd used the Scythe to cut the head off of three walkers who had been aiming for her due to her yelling over all the noise. "If you can't or won't fight either get inside a car or get up on the RV or get up somewhere else where they can't reach you. But whatever you do, stop screaming! It only attracts more of them."

Behind her, she heard the sound of running footsteps, which thankfully included Faith's, and she thanked all that was good for proper backup. The four-five men with her would also be helpful in this, hopefully. When they finally reached the Quarry Camp they had already been shooting for a while and she heard the familiar soft swish of her sister Slayers sword through the air.

"Need some help, B?" Faith's grim smile met her when she turned to the left and she simply nodded. There was no need for words between the two of them when they were fighting. They had long since perfected their synchronized Slaying and with that simple nod, they moved further into the fray. While keeping each other in their peripheral view they systematically worked their way across the camp, cutting the top off of every walker's head in their reach before continuing. Along the way, they checked into the cars for the living and under and around the cars for the undead.

Around them, Rick, Shane, Dale, Glenn, T-Dog, and a man she assumed was Merle Dixon were all shooting at the undead with either guns or rifles. The newcomer seemed to match the description Jacqui had given of Merle at any rate. She'd described him as 'entitled white trash in his early fifties'. Not that it mattered at that point, but it was strange what went through her head in the middle of a fight that didn't really relate to what she was doing.

The fight seemed to go on for hours, but in reality, it was most likely somewhere between 30 and 40 minutes. The herd had been large and widely spread out, and it had also included nearly 20 stragglers who had shambled their way into the camp in the last ten minutes.

When all was said and done there were more than 80 completely dead walkers lying strewn around the camp. That's when the difficult part began; they had to go from body to body and check if it was properly deceased or if it needed to have its brain destroyed, and they also needed to see if it was someone from their camp or one of the herd.

They paired up, one who knew all of the people who had been in the camp before the herd arrived and could tell them apart from the newly arrived walkers, and one person to be on the lookout in case more of them arrived or got back up again suddenly. It wasn't a perfect solution, but they needed to do it now so they wouldn't get a nasty surprise later and lose even more people. Thankfully, both Rick and Shane agreed and they set to work, working their way through all of the bodies while separating them into two piles; one for their own to be buried later and a second for the walkers to be burned. Or rather the deceased camp members were laid out in a row, side by side, while the dead walkers were in several piles further away.

Only the children managed to get some sleep that night, as all the adults were anxiously waiting for the pretend protection the daylight would give them. The illusion was a strong one, and one even Buffy and Faith subscribed to after spending more than a decade fighting vampires and knowing there had been genuine protection from that sort of undead in the rising sun. Unfortunately, there was no protection against the walking dead, except for strong walls to keep them out and something sharp or blunt to destroy their brain with.

When morning finally came and the fires had already been burning for several hours, they buried their dead in the holes Jim had spent digging the day before. After a quick cleaning and an even quicker breakfast, they had settled into the cars and simply began driving away from Atlanta and towards the CDC.

Buffy joined Rory and Gigi in Rory's car along with Carol and her daughter Sophia. Faith took Buffy's car and was joined by T-Dog, Daryl, and Jacqui. Dale drove the RV with Glenn in the front seat and the Harrison sisters and Jim in the back. Merle rode his motorcycle. The Grimes family had a car of their own, and Shane drove a Jeep with the rest.

The four members of the Morales family; Morales himself, his wife Miranda, and their children Eliza and Louis, chose to take their chances and try and find members of their remaining family in a nearby town.

It was a heavy loss for the camp; more than thirteen people had been killed and when the Morales family had chosen to leaves as well, it had cut the group nearly in half. On one hand, it meant they were much fewer people against the walkers, but on the other hand it meant fewer people to feed and fewer people who needed protection against the walkers and other, hostile survivors.

It wasn't a good way to think about it, but it was true. The herd attacking the camp also meant that many of them had seen the two Slayers fight and now they were suddenly much more interested in learning to defend themselves.


	4. Warning Signs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The RV breaks down on the highway and the group is in the direct path of a herd for the second time in less than a week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: The Buffyverse belongs to Joss Whedon. TWD & GG belong to someone who isn't me.
> 
> Written for the 2017 August FaD, Day 30.

Five days after the walker attack on the Quarry Camp and two days after the CDC was destroyed by a self-destruct, they were stuck on a congested highway after the RV broke down. As everyone came out of the various vehicles Buffy made sure to gather everyone around her.  
  
"Okay, everyone! Listen up." Rory took Gigi's hand and turned towards her new friend/group leader/protector and made sure her little sister was paying attention as well. When Buffy spoke to the group it was important, even if they didn't like what she had to say. It had barely been a week, but the two sisters were already better off with their new group than they had been with their old one and that alone meant something. Especially now.  
  
Buffy and Faith had a skill set none of the others did, but they made sure to figure out who knew what and then tried their best to ensure they all learned it. They were still learning the basics, but the improvements did wonders, and it also helped everyone get to know each other better since they had to interact in a different way. It was useful and something they could take with them if something happened. Being able to talk fast and quote obscure, old movies and TV shows wasn't useful in the new world, neither was her writing skills as a journalist. Even if one of her copies of the survival guides had come in useful and been made an important part of their food gathering. It meant they hadn't been starving since they left the camp.  
  
"The RV has broken down again and Dale needs time to fix it before we can move on. In the meantime I want everyone to pair up, two or three in each group, four at the most. Make sure one is capable of killing walkers. Go through all of the cars and look for bottled water, canned food, and other edible foodstuffs. Weapons, bullets, and other things needed to protect us. If you find something else you want, like clothes or shoes, take them, but keep in mind we have limited storage and there will probably come a point when you need to carry your things plus water and food in a backpack. So before you take something, ask yourself if you really need it or if you just want it to have it."  
  
She looked around at everyone, making sure she had eye contact with each person before she continued. "One person searches through the car and one keeps a lookout. Make sure to check inside the cars for walkers. If there is a body with an intact head, stab it. If you're not sure it's properly dead, then stab it. It's better with a little overkill than losing even more of the living. Also, check around the entire car and also under it. If there are several cars closely together, check all of them. We don't need anyone to be bitten in the leg because they've been careless. Every life matters."  
  
Faith took over, "Don't use guns unless it's really necessary. They're loud and will attract any geeks in the area; use your knives and machetes. The last thing we need is a herd out here while one of our cars are broken so we can't escape. *If* a herd shows up then get inside the closest car and lock the doors, then get down and stay there until someone living comes to get you. Be quiet when you open and close the doors, the geeks are attracted to both noise and movement. If you can't get into a car then get on top of the RV or go to one of the people who are capable of fighting."  
  
"If a few walkers come here we'll dispose of them, but if it's a herd it'll depend on how large it is," Buffy added. "With any luck, the RV will be fixed quickly, we'll find food and water, and then leave peacefully. But if we're forced to engage them then all the non-fighters and the children need to get to at least somewhere semi-safe."  
  
"If we have to, B and I will take care of the geeks, the rest of you get safe."  
  
Rory put her arms around her little sister and then she made eye-contact with Andrea, silently asking if she wanted to work with them. Despite the woman's prickly personality, the two of them had gotten along well. Neither of the women were great fighters, but at least Andrea would stab the walkers if it came down to it. Rory still hesitated to kill or even maim the walkers. Amy simply chose to tag along with her sister, probably for lack of a better option.  
  
Daryl, his brother Merle, and T-Dog went to collect gas from the cars. The Grimes family went on their own search, as did Carol, her daughter Sophia, and Shane. Dale was teaching Glenn how to fix the RV and the groups' two fight instructors chose to walk the perimeter, keeping an eye out for the undead while everyone else was occupied.  
  
An hour or so later, Rory was on watch-duty while Amy was rooting through the back of a car, looking for water bottles when suddenly Buffy and Faith gave the signal to hide inside the cars. She couldn't see or hear any walkers, but she'd learned to trust the two women so she grabbed Gigi and saw Andrea shoo Amy into the front seat of the same car they'd been going through. Thankfully there hadn't been any bodies in it. She carefully closed the back hatch and went around to the side where she opened the back door as quietly as she could before pushing her sister in before her and then closing and locking the door behind herself. In front of her, she saw Gigi repeat the process on the opposite door.  
  
As they were getting into the car Rory saw the other small groups do the same while looking around for a threat. Dale was in the process of getting down flat on the roof of the RV, which meant he'd most likely seen the walkers, and Buffy and Faith were moving carefully around the group ensuring everyone got inside a car and out of sight. When Rory had settled she peeked out a window to see that the two women were on their way up onto the roof of the RV, probably so they could get a better overview of everyone including the approaching threat. She still couldn't see the walkers, but she got down again and wiggled around so she was more comfortable and then settled down to wait.  
  
It took close to ten minutes, Rory had kept an eye on her watch, before she finally heard the now-familiar sound of groaning and shuffling feet getting closer. When one of the walkers bumped into the car, Rory felt Gigi tense and then reach out and grab her hand in fear. She took it and squeezed it reassuringly. They were safe enough inside the car, and Buffy and Faith would protect them, as would Daryl, Rick, T-Dog, Glenn, and, if it came down to it, Dale. Dale wasn't really a fighter, but the attack on the Quarry Camp had proven he knew how to do it if he was forced to.  
  
It took another fifteen minutes or so before all the walkers had passed their car, and then another ten before someone suddenly knocked on the window on the driver's side of the car. It caused both of the Harrison sisters to bite back a scream before all four of them rose a little from their positions so they could see who it was. Outside the car was a grinning Faith, who gave them a thumbs up and motioned for them to get out but keep quiet.  
  
"Are everyone okay?" They hadn't even gotten out of the car before Andrea asked the question.  
  
"Everyone's fine. No harm done, they didn't notice us. The geeks are far enough away they shouldn't be able to hear us, we just need to make sure we don't make any sudden movements to make them turn back."  
  
Faith and Andrea kept conversing in low tones, but Rory mostly tuned them out. That had been close and the herd had seemed to be pretty large. If they met it again it would probably be even larger. She winced a little, they'd gotten lucky. What if Buffy and Faith hadn't spotted them early?  
  
"Come on, B's called a meeting."  
  
After everyone had ensured the rest of the group was unharmed they stood around in a loose circle, facing the small, blonde woman.  
  
"That was close, but you all did well. We've got over two dozen cans of food, Shane found a truck full of sealed water coolers, and no one got hurt by the passing herd." Buffy gave the group a genuine smile and most of them returned it. They'd survived a large herd without any bloodshed, Rory smiled to herself.  
  
"But what I wanted to talk about is something else." She turned towards Rick, "Do you want to tell everyone what Dr. Jenner told you before we escaped from the CDC, or should I?"  
  
Rick's eyes had widened in shock, not at being singled out, but apparently at Buffy's ability to eavesdrop. "How did you...?"  
  
"It doesn't matter. What *does* matter is what he told you. so?"  
  
He simply looked at her for a few moments before his eyes slid over to Faith, only to be met with the same knowing look. Rick looked down at the ground, presumably to gather his thoughts, and then he looked back up again and began talking.  
  
"Dr. Jenner told me that we're all infected with whatever causes the dead to rise again. It doesn't matter how we die, we'll get back up again as one of them and try eating anyone we come across. Unless the brain is destroyed."  
  
Somehow Rory felt detached from the following argument, and she simply tuned out Lori and her angry rant. Buffy had already told her and Andrea about her suspicions, it was why she insisted they stab all corpses in the head, even if they appeared to be completely dead, but it was something else to have it confirmed by a scientist.  
  
The argument got loud and they were all admonished by Faith of all people, but there wasn't really anything to argue about; if they'd stopped to think about it it was logical. It explained why so many people had died and gotten up to kill even more people.  
  
Rather than follow the argument she voted for them to get back in the car, Dale had managed to fix the RV, and find somewhere to stay for the night. They could continue the argument there, but right now they needed to get someone they could defend better. The other reluctantly agreed and they got back into the cars after having loaded their loot? Their new supplies? Either way, and they were off.


End file.
